Koi No Ignition
by ShinythiefXblast
Summary: Harry finally offs Voldemort, but not without paying a price.  He is sent through a portal into the One Piece world, where, tired, broken, and not even remembering his name, he meets Portgas D. Ace. Join them on their journey together! Rated T but M later
1. Chapter 1

Koi No Ignition

Chapter 1: The Wormhole

Disclaimer: I am neither rich nor anywhere close to a decent artist so I cannot possibly own either Harry Potter or One Piece. I, however will play to my heart's content with the characters! Please don't sue because I don't really have money….. Thanks.

Note from ShinythiefXblast: I am continuing work on A Bigger Issue however I am experiencing writer's block on that particular story so I decided to go ahead and post the HP/OP crossover that's been bouncing around my head instead. I will not guarantee quick or regular chapter postings although I currently have rough sketches for the first three chapters at least. I will tell you however that this fic will continue until around the time of Ace's execution in canon….. I have no idea at this point in time whether I will save him from the chopping block or not. All I ask is that you are a little patient with me and as always I appreciate reviews very much! Thanks!

AN: After a certain point, Harry will no longer be called Harry, his new name is Midori. Also, this is AceXMidori SLASH, YAOI, BOYXBOYLOVE! If you don't like this kind of thing then please don't read!

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><p>Blood. The very first thing that registered in Harry's mind as he regained consciousness was the cloying, metallic scent of blood hanging in the air. The next thing he felt was hot, salty tears splashing on his arms from above, accompanied by great, howling wails of grief. He knew he had to remain still, even though he wanted to reassure his friends. If he didn't wait until just the right moment, Harry knew that his opossum act would be for nothing. For a moment, all he could hear were dull sobs and moans of pain, but the surroundings soon grew quiet. Voldemort's high, cruel voice rose above the crowd with the aid of the Sonorus Charm.<p>

"It's all over for you warriors of 'light'! I have killed your cowardly 'Savior' while he ran with his tail between his legs, weak dog that he was!" Voldemort's pallid, snake-like face was stretched into a grotesque parody of a smile.

"If you need proof, here is his cold, dead body! Hahahahahah!" Harry fought to stay completely limp as he was levitated and then dropped several times, and was finally kicked in the stomach with someone's steel-toe boot. He inwardly winced, knowing that if by some miracle he managed to survive this he would be in a great deal of pain. Yet, even as he lay there, a strong, clear voice rang over the Hogwarts grounds.

"You're a dirty liar, Voldemort! Harry isn't that kind of person! You probably cursed him from behind you bloody coward!" Voldemort's eyes widened comically in rage as he turned towards the offending voice.

"Who would dare?" Bellatrix Lestrange's deranged cackle broke through.

"It's ickle baby Long-arse my Lord! Please permit me to send him to his mummy and daddy my Lord" She begged Voldemort slavishly in a keening sing-song voice. Voldemort threw his arm out in a stopping gesture and her voice cut off abruptly. Neville Longbottom stood not twenty feet away with a determined look on his face and a bloodied sword of Gryffindor in his hands. At his feet lay the slain corpse of Voldemort's own familiar, Nagini.

"No my dear Bella," Voldemort said sotto voce," There will be no quarter for this one. I shall give him the honor of dying by my hand." One of the Death Eaters to the Dark Lord's left removed his mask and favored the defiant boy with a triumphant smirk. It was Antonin Dolohov, the very same Death Eater that had broken Neville's nose and nearly killed Hermione at the Ministry Fiasco two years before.

"You're dead now boy!" But all of a sudden, several volleys of spells came from all directions as Voldemort raised his wand to deal the final blow. Dolohov went flying arse over teakettle much to other's fleeting amusement. Voldemort raised a shield as his Death Eaters retaliated haplessly. Bellatrix was clipped in the shoulder with a crimson curse that caused her to snarl, and then faint where she stood. Harry made sure Voldemort was sufficiently distracted before he pulled out the invisibility cloak and covered himself with it. That didn't fool Voldemort for long and the snake-eyed wizard bellowed in anger "Ulcus Sanguinis!" Harry dodged to the side and flung a stunner back at him followed by a full body binder. Voldemort flung the spells away as though it were nothing but child's play.

"I grow tired of these games we play, Potter. It goes the same way every time. Just die already! Avada Kedavra!" Harry's eyes widened as the bright green spell arched towards him. He brought up his wand, and in an instinctual reaction, shouted, "Expelliarmus!" The golden spell met the lethal spell in mid-air, and miraculously bounced it straight back at Voldemort. The soon to be dead Dark Lord snarled in fury, knowing he couldn't dodge in time.

"Oh no Potter! If I die you are going with me! Syria localis!" The reflected killing curse hit the Dark Lord, and as his dead body fell towards the ground, Harry was propelled through a shimmering wormhole that had appeared in front of him. The last thing he heard before falling into infinite darkness was the sound of several voices screaming his name.

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><p>Harry woke. Abruptly. And in a great deal of pain. His unconscious body had rocketed down through the sky and hit the roof of a building, where he proceeded to go through the roof and hit the floor through sheer momentum. He struggled to breathe through the cloud of dust his impact had raised. He tried to open his eyes and barely managed to open them a sliver before hissing in pain. He could hear muffled voices around him and people prodding his body. Harry opened his eyes again, this time with more success. The first thing he registered was that it was Bloody. <em>Freaking<em>. COLD! The second thing he noticed was the man standing over him. He was pale with a plethora of freckles on his face that reminded him of the Weasleys, only this man had hair darker than his, an almost blue-black shade. He had a wide, sensual mouth that was pursed quizzically. His eyes, which normally would have been merry, were scrunched in worry for him. He was wearing a black cowboy hat that had two smiley faces, one with a smile, the other frowning, which came with a matching robe-like coat that swayed in the frigid breeze. In short, he just had the sort of laid-back je-ne-sais-quoi feeling that instantly made Harry feel he could be trusted. Harry relaxed minutely.

"Wh-Where am I?" Harry croaked, in pain just from speaking. His jaw was so sore just from those few words that Harry was not sure it was still in one piece. He rotated it slowly and decided immediately he wasn't going to do that again. Come to think of it, there were more important issues to be addressed.

"Who am I?" He asked the enigmatic man. He frowned instantly. The man came forward to scoop him up in his arms. Harry stiffened and braced himself to be dropped. When the arms tightened around him, he tentatively opened his eyes again. The man was once again looking at him with concern.

"You are in the kingdom formerly known as Drum. Does that ring any bells?" Harry shook his head and then winced at the pain of the movement. Harry gave up struggling and just relaxed in his arms.

"What's your name?" If Harry was going to trust this man to help him, he at least needed to know his name. Even though he wasn't really in a position to do anything about his injuries at the moment.

"My name is Ace. Will you allow me to take care of you?" Harry blushed in mortification. He tore his gaze to the side.

"I d-don't w-want to be a burden." Harry said while shivering. Ace smiled at him and gently set him down for a moment. He removed his long black coat to reveal a very well maintained body, before wrapping the coat around Harry and scooping him back into his arms.

"Nah don't worry about it. If you don't mind traveling with me I'll take care of you until you get better." Harry nodded but stayed silent as Ace shifted him in his arms. Ace looked at the bar proprietor and grinned. The crowd of people that had been standing around watching the whole situation slowly began returning to their meals. The barkeep was still looking at the injured boy with great worry.

"Maybe we should summon that witch doctor to look at him. He's pretty banged up." Ace shook his head and walked towards the miraculously still standing door.

"I'll take care of him old man! Remember; if Monkey D. Luffy comes through here tell him that Ace will wait in Alabasta for only ten days! He'll know who you're talking about! Later!" Ace settled Harry in his arms and took off running, dodging snowdrifts and loitering people. The bar's door smacked open as the irate barkeep came lunging outside, fire in his eyes and shark fangs in his mouth.

"OI! STOP HIM! HE DIDN'T PAY!" Ace laughed uproariously and kept running until he reached his little boat. Harry fought the urge to face-palm only because he knew he probably wouldn't be able to move like that for a while. Harry yawned tiredly as Ace laid him down inside the tiny boat and unleashed the sails as he departed. The beat of the waves against the boat quickly lulled him to sleep.

When he next woke, the sky overhead was clear and the air was warmer. He noticed that his pain had greatly reduced and he struggled to sit up. A warm hand gently pushed him back down. Harry focused his vision and saw Ace sitting quietly in front of him with a soft smile on his face. Now that he could look without the haze of pain distracting him, Harry could acknowledge that Ace was a very handsome man. He had removed the coat and laid it on Harry for covering, and in doing so left his torso completely bare. Harry could see a tattoo of what appeared to be his own botched name on his arm and the only thing covering his bottom was his pair of black shorts. Harry had a feeling Ace really liked black.

"I see you're awake. You should stay lying down for a little bit longer, or at least until I can get you to a doctor." Harry shook his head slowly, fighting down the traitorous blush rising in his cheeks.

"You shouldn't worry about that, Sir. I've always been a very fast healer. I think I should be back to normal in a few days." Ace raised his eyebrow and looked at him incredulously. Harry had a brief recollection of a dark man looking at him with the same expression and he had to momentarily fight back a laugh. Ace growled jestingly and then smirked at him.

"Just call me Ace; I'm nowhere near old enough to be called sir. I'm only 20. What's your name, kid?"

Harry bristled indignantly, and tried to sit up only to be forced back down again. He gave up. He really didn't have the strength to fight at the moment.

"I'm 17 so I'm not a kid! I don't really remember my name but I'd probably know it if someone told me." Ace grinned. His eyes sparkled in mirth.

"I'll just call you Midori then, little one. Never would have guessed you were 17, you look 14 at most…."

Midori sighed in resignation. He didn't know why exactly, but he felt that his lack of stature was a great injustice.

"I've always been short for my age; I'd halfway think my mother was a dwarf if I hadn't seen a picture of her." Ace laughed and then poured flame into his boat's engine. Midori looked at him curiously before pushing off that sweltering coat. He reached up and wiped beads of sweat from his bruised brow, revealing his lightning bolt scar.

"How are you doing that?" Ace lit his fingers on fire and then started to juggle balls of flame. He then sent out thin tongues of flame that danced around Midori.

"I ate the Flame-Flame fruit so now I am literally made of fire." Midori's eyes glazed over in confusion before he shrugged and looked back up at the wispy clouds.

"Ah, I see." Midori said, although it was blatantly obvious that he was clueless. He hummed and closed his eyes. Midori was tempted to fall asleep because of the boat's gentle rocking. He hummed again and opened his eyes.

"Hey, Ace? Where are we going?" Ace lay down next to him on the gently rocking boat, placing his arms behind his head to stare up at the sky. He was quiet for a moment, relishing the sound of the waves lapping at the sides of the small watercraft. Midori could feel intense heat coming from him and he began to slowly understand his 'made of fire' statement.

"Alabasta for now. Don't know where after that." Midori's heart began to beat even faster in excitement.

"What's Alabasta?" Ace sat up and looked at him in surprise, his eyes widened and disbelieving.

"You don't know about Alabasta? It's one of the most famous kingdoms in the Grand Line and a member of the World Council!" Midori looked at him quizzically and shook his head again in apology.

"It's not ringing any bells, Ace. Anyway, why are we going there?" Ace snorted before breaking out into gales of laughter. Midori felt the urge to belt him before settling for mentally strangling him instead. He had to count to ten again before the ass would finally stop laughing, and then, once he had stopped, the glare Midori had sent him made Ace nearly convulse with laughter.

"Ah Midori! That glare was so cute! Ahahahahahah!" Midori just growled and then proceeded to try and ignore Ace in retaliation. Such was an act better planned than carried out, for Midori found it difficult to ignore something that was touching him.

"Are you going to tell me why we are going to Alabasta?" Midori gritted out through his clenched teeth.

"Well, it's a combination of business and pleasure I'm afraid. I got information that a traitor to my crew was in Alabasta and that Luffy may be in that area as well. If we can meet again after so long that would be great." Midori felt a muted sense of jealousy at the mention of Luffy, even though he didn't really know why. He had to calm his eye twitch before he responded.

"Ah…who's Luffy?" He asked airily. Ace broke into a huge smile and Midori had to, once again, bury the unexplainable feelings of jealousy.

"He's my dumb little brother! Always in trouble, that one, ever since he was a baby…" Midori looked up and Ace had fallen asleep where he lay. Midori sat up in a panic and tried to rouse him to no avail. He placed his ear against Ace's chest, and found to his relief that his heart was beating. Midori poked him several times in the shoulder. Ace was still sleeping, amazingly, and Midori was just about to karate chop his forehead when he got the most deliciously evil idea. He sucked on his finger and got it soaking wet and promptly inserted it into Ace's ear. Ace jumped up in a panic. Jumping isn't really a wise thing to do in such a small boat and so he lost his balance and fell straight on top of Midori. Midori hissed in pain as day old bruises were jostled and Ace rolled off him. He looked at Midori apologetically.

"Sorry Midori. Are you alright?" Midori's heart was beating mile a minute as he tried to forget the simultaneous pain and pleasure he got when Ace landed on top of him.

"You are heavy, but it was my fault anyway. How long until we get to Alabasta? I think I need some pain medication." Ace looked out at the horizon and then at the log pose he had attached to his wrist, before looking back at Midori, who was now gasping in pain.

"Only about 20 minutes if I go turbo. Will you be alright until then?" Midori looked up and smiled at him. He scoffed weakly.

"I'm not that hurt Ace. I just need some pain meds and a good night's sleep then I'll be fine." Ace smiled and stood before folding the sails and tying them back.

"Alright! Brace yourself little one! Here we go!" The little craft lurched as Ace poured the fire-power on and the little boat actually rose out of the water before skimming across the surface at an amazing speed. In what seemed like only minutes, they pulled up in a tiny little bay where Ace moored his craft. Ace then bent down and lifted Midori into his arms again. Midori promptly blushed and attempted to get down. Just the bare touch of Ace's skin made his heartbeat skyrocket.

"Ace! Put me down! I can walk you know!" Ace just tightened his jaw and shook his head before beginning to walk to the small desert town.

"I'd rather not risk it Midori. You're in a great deal of pain and we don't know if anything is broken or not. We'll find a doctor and then follow his orders to the letter." Midori just gave a token protest before settling down and getting used to the feeling of Ace carrying him. Ace continued to walk the path into town and Midori fell asleep, lulled by the sound of Ace's steady heartbeat.


	2. Chapter 2

Koi no Ignition

Chapter 2: A Day of Bed rest and Fruitless Searching

A note from ShinythiefXblast: I guess I'm finding it easier to work on this fic rather than A Bigger Issue, which is still giving me problems. I'm trying to write the chapter so that the sexual tension between Yusuke and Kurama is a little muted while the plot continues i.e. the tracking and eradication of Karasu but this little kissing/angst scene keeps wanting in and it's frustrating me. If anyone is interested in giving me a little feedback about the romance rather than the plotline I'd be really grateful but I understand if it's not your cup of tea. Also, for this story, on the next chapter and the one after that, I'll need to borrow heavily from the animeverse quotes. I'll attempt to make it so that it's not completely alike, but since the two brothers will be meeting, and Midori will be with Ace this time, things will have to be changed a bit anyway….

I'm so excited! Thank you thank you thank you for reviewing! I just get so irrationally happy when I get a review that I just start typing away…

In answer to one reviewer, Midori does not have specific, detailed memories of his former life at this time. He gets brief memory flashes stimulated by random things. He remembers seeing a picture of his mother but not her name, Ace's eyebrow lift reminds him of Snape….. That sort of thing.

So, (hopefully) without further excuses, I give you chapter 2 of Koi no Ignition

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><p>Ace looked down at the little enigma he had already sworn in his heart to protect. It was unfathomable, really. An almost elfin looking boy (who was actually a man) had literally fallen from the sky into his lap and was still grievously injured from said fall. It surprised him that the small man had slept nearly the entire 2 day trip from Drum to Alabasta. It made him feel even guiltier after that to know that because of his stupid narcolepsy he had injured Midori even further. A 17 year old young man, who didn't know his own name, where he came from or even some of the most memorable landmarks on the planet. Ace didn't know why he needed to protect him, but he had a deep, gut feeling that Midori needed to be with him. Ace knew that Midori would leave once he had completely recovered, but until then…<p>

Ace stepped up to the nearest person on the street, a sweaty man carrying a large bundle of wood planks, and stopped him for a moment.

"Excuse me, Sir, but what city is this?" The man, who stooped to rest his load on the ground, looked at him warily.

"This is Katorea; we aren't really in the best shape for tourists right now with the drought being this bad n'all. If you're wantin' that you'd best be heading west to Nanohana." Ace nodded in thanks.

"Thank you Sir, but we aren't really tourists, we just stopped here because my companion had an accident and really needs to see a doctor. Do you know where the nearest one is?" The man took a closer look at the sleeping man in his arms and shook his head.

"That one looks to be in bad shape, young one. There's a doctor about 2 blocks down on the left that should be able to help you." Ace smiled softly at him and bowed slightly in thanks.

"Thank you Sir, I'll be on my way." The other man bowed in return and Ace walked past him. People on the streets looked warily in his direction and scurried to get out of the way. He finally reached a door on the left side with a stethoscope painted on it and the name 'Dr. Enikshu' painted underneath in calligraphy. Ace pushed the door open with his foot and walked in. The interior of the office was painted in a muted yellow and was rather surprisingly neat compared with the exterior. The doctor, who had been behind a doorway, peeked his head out and gasped loudly.

"Oh dear, oh dear, this young man has been through a rough time hasn't he? Place him gently on the bed young sir, and I will examine him. You go sit over there." Ace laid him on the pristine hospital bed and went over to sit in the chair by the window, while the doctor pulled a curtain across to conceal the examining area from his eyes. Ace couldn't help but feel apprehensive; the doctor was over on the other side of the room making all kinds of disapproving gasping noises. Obviously something the doctor was doing was making Midori uncomfortable because he kept hearing little moans coming from his direction as well. Ace was beginning to fight off little tendrils of irritation when the doctor pulled the curtain back and swept in his direction. He straightened up in his chair and watched silently as the doctor pulled up a chair to sit in front of him. The doctor sighed, opened his mouth, closed it, and then sighed again.

"How bad is it Doctor?" The doctor looked him straight in the eye and glowered.

"I'd like to know where his parents are and give them a good thrashing because of all the damage I found on his body. There are signs of long-term malnourishment or starvation and his joints have been worn to a considerable degree for his age by hard labor. His back also has numerous scars from what looks like whip lashings. His body is all one big bruise right now because of this accident, but the good news is that no bones are broken. He shows signs of concussion so make sure to wake him after every hour or so of sleeping. He should be able to function well after a minimum of 24 hours bed rest and painkillers are optional but I daresay he'd want them right now." Ace nodded, face stormy as he took in the doctor's verdict. He sighed. He didn't really want to leave Midori but he didn't have a choice. He needed to scout for information regarding that traitorous Teach and about if his little brother had arrived in Alabasta yet. He pinned the doctor with his gaze.

"May I leave him here in your hands Doctor? I need to run around and inquire about some things and I may be gone for a few hours." The doctor growled.

"You aren't intending to abandon this young man are you?" Ace bristled in anger.

"No of course not! I'd never leave Midori alone if I didn't have to! He needs me and he doesn't have anyone else right now he can trust. I just need a few hours to take care of some things." The doctor nodded gruffly.

"Very well, I'll babysit. Don't be gone too long though." Ace strode out the door, letting it swing shut behind him. He pulled out Marshall D. Teach's wanted poster and began to ask everyone loitering on the streets whether he had been seen. He got a plethora of 'no's' before he finally admitted defeat. Blackbeard's rumored stay in Alabasta had clearly not been in Katorea. He still had a few cities to try so he wasn't too worried, but if he didn't kill the bastard soon, he would explode. Literally. Ace was tempted to make the rounds again to ask about his little brother, but clearly the people in this town were very wary of strangers. He had had trouble even getting some of them to talk at all and he knew he'd be pushing his luck if he did it again. Instead, he began to browse in the shops that were littered around the square. Midori dearly needed some clean and proper desert clothing for their stay in Alabasta. He had had nothing with him except for the dirty, ragged, and over-sized clothing he had crashed through the roof in. Ace looked through the racks of clothing and smiled when he found what seemed to be the perfect outfit for Midori. It was a black pair of knee length shorts and a loose green poet shirt that closely matched the color of his eyes. He also picked up a simple black and white zebra striped traveling cloak in case they needed to travel across the desert for Midori. He then noticed on his way to the cashier counter, a black traveling cloak with a flame design running along the bottoms of the sleeves and the hem of the cloak. Ace smirked and took that over to the counter too. The young girl at the counter was smiling brightly as Ace brought the bundle of clothing over. She quickly rang up the items he gave her.

"Is there anything else you need today, Honored Customer?" Ace thought for a minute and then smiled.

"Sure. I also need 2 white scarves and I'd like to look at your selection of jewelry, please." The young woman quickly moved out from behind the counter and into the back room where, presumably, the jewelry was kept. She came back carrying a stack of locked display boxes that came up to her chin as she staggered under the weight. She set them down on the counter and spread them out so Ace could view the items inside through the glass cover. He looked in the first three cases, immediately dismissing them because their wares were blatantly feminine.

"Miss, I'd like to only look at the ones that weren't only made for a woman, if you get my meaning." Her eyes widened and she bowed low in apology before taking most of the cases back into the storeroom. Ace began to look through the remaining cases. Two of them held only rings, and he paused for a moment before moving along to the case adjacent to it. This one held necklaces and he looked through the selection thoughtfully. Most of the ones in the case were too bulky to suit Midori, he thought as the attendant returned. There was one that could work, he thought, as he gazed through the glass. It was a white beaded necklace, with alternating coin-sized beads and tube-shaped beads. It was long enough to wrap twice around the neck and then hang down to mid chest. He pointed to that one and the girl took it from the case.

"Would you like to get the matching bracelet sir? It is in the same design and when bought with the necklace is half price." The salesgirl beamed when he nodded, and removed the bracelet as well before putting the rest of the jewelry away. She rang in the scarves and the bracelet and necklace set.

"If that will be all today, Sir, your total is 7,600B!" She said cheerfully while folding all the purchases. He gave her 10,000B and she returned his change with another smile.

"Thank you and have a great day!" Ace heard as he took the bags from the counter and left the store. Ace walked straight down the street and didn't even acknowledge the people that scurried to get out of his way. He returned to the doctor's house and knocked before pushing the door open.

"Midori?" Ace called out when he noticed that the boy was no longer on the doctor's bed. Dr. Enikshu poked his head out from the back room and grunted at the sight of him.

"Oh you're back are you? Was half convinced you weren't coming back after all. Your friend is taking a shower, he really was remarkably filthy." Ace set the backs down and began to root through them pensively.

"Well if he's clean, he won't want to dress in the same dirty clothes he was in. I just came back from getting him a change of clothes. May I take them in?" The doctor grunted again and just waved him into the back. Ace grabbed the pants, shirt, and scarf, and then followed the doctor through the door. The back area had a small kitchen, a bed, and a room with a closed door that he supposed was the bathroom. His suspicion was confirmed when he heard the steady beating of the water falling from the shower. Ace knocked on the door.

"Doctor? Did you need something?" Ace smiled at the sound of Midori's voice and he pushed the door open slightly.

"Midori, it's me. I've brought you some clothes. I'll set them on the sink for you to wear after you're done." He could hear Midori shift in the shower by the way that some of the water hit the floor all at once.

"Thanks Ace. I'll be finished shortly." Ace placed the bundle on the sink in the bathroom and shut the door again. He sat against the edge of the door and called in.

"How do you feel?" The water shut off and Ace could hear the muted 'shniiiiick' sound the curtain made as it was drawn back. It was all silent for a moment, but he could hear the rustling of cloth and he knew Midori was dressing.

"I actually feel almost as good as new. The doctor gave me a mild painkiller so I can barely feel a twinge of pain. It was nice to sleep for a few hours too. Did you finish your errands? Doc said you needed to go do something." The bathroom door creaked open and Midori stepped out dressed in the brand-new clothing. Ace noted with amusement that instead of draping the scarf around his neck, Midori had tied it around his waist like a belt and finished it in a small bow, leaving a long tail that brushed the edge of the shorts. He also noticed that Midori looked amazing. The shirt really made his eyes pop dramatically and emphasized his pale complexion. Ace smiled at him and heaved himself off the floor.

"Yeah, I went to ask around about Teach and then went shopping for some necessities. You look 20 times better than before, Midori. I also have something else for you if you like?" Midori looked at him quizzically, then shrugged. Ace grabbed his hand and began to pull him out to the main area where he had left the shopping bag. Midori looked down at the hand holding his, and then looked up at Ace. Ace let go reluctantly and bent to dig through the bag for the impromptu gift.

"Here Midori, what do you think?" Midori took the necklace and bracelet from his hands gingerly, as if he was afraid the offering would disappear if he wasn't careful. Midori looked up and gave him a wide smile and Ace felt his heart skip a beat. Midori reached up to place the necklace around his neck and the bracelet on his wrist reverently. He unconsciously smoothed down his unruly damp hair and stepped towards Ace hesitantly. He touched Ace's side before wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug, burying his face in the warm chest. Ace froze for a fraction of a second, and then returned the embrace, just as Midori began to shudder.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ace began to card his fingers through Midori's hair lightly, stroking the damp locks away from his face, and cradled his head under his own chin.

"Thank you so much! I've…" Midori paused for a moment and tightened his grip around Ace's middle. Ace hummed in encouragement for him to continue.

"I've never been given anything that wasn't 'necessary' before. I'll treasure it, I promise." After a long moment, Midori began to pull back from the embrace and Ace sheepishly released him. He looked at the vulnerable boy in front of him. Midori was looking down and away, face lightly flushed in what seemed to be shame and he grasped one arm and rubbed it before moving down to fiddle with his new accessory. Ace itched to pull him into another hug but he didn't really think it would be welcomed with the awkward way Midori held himself. The doctor came into the room and stared for a moment before shaking his head.

"Alright young man, I'm releasing you for now, but I warn you, if you do anything strenuous in the next three days I _**will **_find you and strap you down to this bed for a month!" Midori shivered in apprehension and nodded furiously, already backing towards the door. Ace picked up the remaining back and bee-lined out the door, quickly followed by a thoroughly creeped out Midori. The duo walked down the avenue towards the little inlet where Ace's boat had been moored. People scurried out of their way once again and Midori looked up at Ace, question in his eyes.

"Why are all these people glaring and avoiding us? You didn't do anything strange did you?" Ace shook his head as he continued strolling, Midori almost having to run to keep up with him. Ace sighed heavily and slowed his stride accordingly.

"They're very reluctant to associate with strangers right now, Midori, I don't really know why. I didn't get any useful information today at all about Teach and I didn't want to push it asking about Luffy too."

"Um, who is Teach again?" Midori and Ace reached the little boat and Ace began to set up the temporary roof so they could sleep that night. Once Midori realized what Ace was doing, he scrambled to help him tie things down.

"It's a bit of a story, give me a minute." Ace grunted as he tied the final knot and opened the tent like flap for Midori. Midori climbed in and Ace followed him with the bag, which he stashed right behind the sail's pole. He lay down on the bottom of the boat and patted the space next to him, smiling slowly as Midori lay close to him. Ace sighed and wondered how to begin.

"Well, I am the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, so there are a number of pirates underneath me that I am responsible for protecting. Marshall D. Teach was one of them. Not too long ago, he murdered one of our fellow crew members, stole his belongings, and jumped ship. Now I must track him down and execute him for his crimes." Midori's eyes lit up in anger.

"How could he do that to his own crewmate? That's despicable!" Midori spat angrily before Ace stroked his hair calmingly.

"I know, that's why I must get revenge for him in his place, and in the place of the rest of our crew. We came to Alabasta because I had heard rumors that Blackbeard, which is what he calls himself, had been spotted here. Now I've just got to find him before…!" Ace made a violent hand gesture.

"Where will we go since you said no one saw him here?" Midori lay back with his arms under his head and yawned tiredly.

"Tomorrow we will sail west to Nanohana; hopefully I'll have more luck there. You should get some rest now. There's a long day ahead of us….." Ace snorted when he realized that Midori had already fallen asleep.

"Goodnight Little Midori, sleep well." Ace lightly brushed his lip against the sleeping boy's forehead, turned over, and was out like a light.

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><p>AN: Question 1. Do you think Midori should completely regain his memories? Let me know!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Koi No Ignition

Chapter 3: Fighting and Shark Teeth

A Note from ShinythiefXblast: If I owned One Piece, I never would have even contemplated killing Ace so I obviously don't own it. Same with Harry Potter.

Now that that is out of the way, I just have to say I feel like dancing some dorky little dance until I fall over right now! If you've seen Gravitation, think the 'Shuichi got Yuki love' dance lol. I've never gotten so many reviews for the first couple chapters of a story before! And I'm also getting valid suggestions from people! Sigh~~3. I feel like Sanji around naked women hahahaha.

Thank you all very much for your reviews! This is the one we have been waiting for! Ace and Luffy meet again! So much fun will ensue (and a little property damage)! I always feel a bit sorry for the people's houses that get destroyed. So get ready for suspicion and shark teeth, Here We Go!

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><p>Midori woke up slowly, groggily thinking that waking up without pain was a very nice change. He lay there for a moment, savoring the steady rocking of the boat and the heavy, briny smell of the ocean that hung in the air. He opened his eyes and gazed up at the miniscule birds flying up above, wincing at the sheer brightness of the sun high in the sky. It must be near midday, he mused, closing his eyes. He sighed in a moment of brief happiness, a small smile flitting over his face. The boat lurched suddenly and Midori's eyes shot open to find Ace's face about 2 inches away from his nose. He screeched in fright and instantly shot behind the mast on the little boat. He instantly grew shark fangs.<p>

"What the hell!" Ace twitched and then doubled over laughing his ass off. Midori growled and fought to get his temper down. Well, there went his seemingly peaceful morning, he groused. He came out from behind the wood pole and glared heatedly at the still laughing older man. He walked past him and dunked his face in the cool ocean water at the side of the boat.

"Aww Midori~~~ don't be mad at me! I just thought you'd like to wake up to my gorgeous face!" Midori growled again and intensified the glare. If only he had eaten the Flame fruit, fire would have incinerated the man with the innocent (read smug) smile.

"Ugly Mug more like." Midori gritted out. Ace pounced on Midori and started to ruffle his hair vigorously, while he tried in vain to slap his hands away. Midori just gave up and allowed his already unruly hair to be pummeled into a staticy, tangled, bird's nest.

"Yeah but you like it. Want some breakfast?" Midori hadn't noticed before, but Ace had brought several skewers of some kind of fragrant barbequed meat and a few shiny, juicy looking apples. Midori perked up and nodded hungrily.

"Alright, you are forgiven only because you have brought me food." Ace chuckled heartily and tossed him a couple of the skewers and an apple, smirking as he struggled to catch them. Midori gave him a half-hearted glare, before digging into the succulent meat with gusto. A smile came over his face and he looked at Ace.

"What is this? I've never had anything this tasty before!" Ace shrugged while chewing on his own hunk of meat.

"Ehh the vender said it was deer, I think." Midori nodded and continued eating quietly, polishing off the filling, if not completely nutritious meal. Ace must eat fast, because when Midori looked up the second time, there was no sign of his breakfast remaining, except for one of the licked-clean skewers that he was picking his teeth with.

"So are we already at Nanohana or do we still need to go there?" Ace nodded jerkily and threw his 'toothpick' away. Midori watched him stand and jump off the boat to the packed dirt of this new little inlet.

"Yep, this is Nanohana! I even got some information about Teach while you were sleeping the day away you layabed!" Midori hummed and attempted to jump off the boat and land next to Ace. Attempting was the key word apparently, because he managed to land not _next_ to Ace, but _on top_ of him.

"Haha I knew you couldn't resist me!" Ace teased laughingly. Midori smirked and attempted to cover his faux-pas.

"Just a little revenge for this morning! It's not like you can't take it anyway." Midori teased right back. The two companions started walking towards the larger city that Ace had already been in this morning. Midori began humming a catchy little tune that Ace had never heard before, and it got him curious.

"What's that song?" Midori stopped humming for a bit.

"It's called Yellow Submarine; it was really popular where I lived." Ace tilted his head confused.

"I thought you don't remember where you come from, Midori." Midori shrugged dismissively and continued walking on the uneven dirt road for a long, silent moment.

"I've been seeing glimpses of my other life in dreams. Visions of people I might have once known, strange sequences of words, and other random things that make no sense to me. Like that song, for instance. I don't know how I know it but I remember hearing it. Does that make sense?" Ace smiled at him ruefully and matched his steps to Midori's, who had unconsciously been speed-walking as he talked.

"Well, it's a good thing you're getting your memories back, maybe then you'll be able to get home!" Ace said cheerfully. Midori smiled back and continued walking just a little faster so Ace couldn't see his face. _What if he didn't want to go home?_

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><p>The duo finally reached the bustling city after about 20 minutes of walking and Midori was starting to wonder if maybe Ace had already grown tired of him. A large part of Midori was extremely afraid to regain his memories at all, for surely once his memories had returned, Ace would leave him behind. For some reason, Midori had gotten attached to the freckly, semi-annoying man. He sighed, causing Ace to look at him weirdly, even though he didn't comment.<p>

"Hey want to look at the bazaars? They have some pretty interesting things here." Midori looked up at him and nodded quietly. Ace led him to the myriad of little street-side shops and stayed by his side as he browsed. Midori didn't really see anything he liked at the first three stalls, except a pair of silver hoop earrings that would be useless to him since his ears weren't pierced. It wasn't until they visited the fifth little stall that Midori found something that called to him, quite literally. This was a little weaponry shop and it had many beautiful daggers and pistols. His eyes were instantly drawn to a matched pair of silver daggers with runes carved along the curvy blades. They seemed to glow almost ethereally but what called to him the most was that the handles were sinuously coiled snakes with emerald chips inlaid for eyes. They seemed to look straight into his soul. He could swear he heard them whisper in a sibilant voice, _Pick us up, we belong to you._ The shopkeeper looked at him knowingly.

"They have chosen you, young man." Midori tore his eyes away from the enchanting daggers and looked at the woman sitting behind the wares. She smirked at him.

"These are daggers that were found in ancient ruins and restored. They've always been sentient, and I swear I've seen them move before, but I've never heard them hiss before." Midori looked at her skeptically.

"They didn't hiss, they clearly told me to pick them up didn't they?" The woman's smirk escalated to 'cat-got-canary' status and Midori fought the urge to scowl at her.

"All we heard was a long hiss, right young man?" Midori looked up at Ace with wide eyes as he nodded in a confirmation. Midori reached out with his right hand and touched the pair of blades and with a little flash of light that made Midori and Ace stagger back in surprise, they melded into his skin and took the form of snake tattoos spiraling up both arms. _Thank you, Master. Call upon us when you are in need and we shall protect you._ Midori gulped and looked at the shocked speechless woman.

"Um, I'm sorry, how much were they?"

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><p>"Do strange things like that happen to you often?" Ace asked as he examined the newly formed tattoos on Midori's pale skin. Midori was visibly lost as he stared at his arms.<p>

"I-I don't think so?" Ace shrugged and dropped his arms quietly. He looked around the street, and when Ace had spotted what looked to be a fortune teller, he gestured Midori to follow him and walked over, digging his brother's wanted poster as he went. The two of them reached the old woman's stall and Ace placed the wanted poster in front of her.

"Have you seen this man here?" The fortune teller made an inquiring noise.

"Monkey D. Luffy?" She asked. A green haired man standing about 20 feet away looked at them instantly and frowned. Midori pressed closer to Ace in sudden trepidation.

"I can't say I've seen him young man, but you could try the restaurant right up the road. They get a lot of people so maybe the owner has seen him." Ace bowed to her.

"Thank you very much, and I was just getting hungry too. Come on Midori, let's eat!" They walked away from the old woman and Midori pressed closer to Ace. Ace looked down at him, concerned at his scared face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Midori shuddered. The snake tattoos on his arms began to writhe, sensing their master's anxiousness.

"We were being watched Ace, it creeped me out." Ace smiled in relief.

"We're always being watched, Midori. We aren't from around here." It was a reasonable explanation, but Midori couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to the look.

"There was a green-haired man that wasn't paying attention to us at all until Luffy's name was mentioned. Then he looked at us and _glared_! You can't say that isn't suspicious!" Midori protested heatedly. Ace frowned too, but continued walking to the restaurant, leaving Midori no choice but to follow or be left behind. They walked through the doors of the eatery and sat on stools at the counter. A middle aged man was behind the counter polishing a mug when they came in, and he set it down gently to come take their orders. Ace looked at Midori and Midori shrugged.

"Six house specials and two mugs of your finest mead!" Midori sweat dropped mentally.

"Are you a bottomless stomach! Jeez you'll get fat if you eat that much!" Ace laughed at him as the first two plates were placed in front of them along with mugs of golden liquid.

"Nah I won't get fat! Devil Fruit users like me burn through food qui….." Ace slumped forward and his head went straight into the plate of what kind of looked like chicken fried rice. Everyone in the establishment stared and then backed up to the edges of the restaurant.

"Oh my god he just died!" One woman screamed as a small crowd started to gather outside.

"It must have been a desert strawberry that did it!" Shouted another customer as he backed away and a gasp went over the room.

"I-isn't that the spider that looks like a strawberry and if you eat it you just drop dead three days later?" A lady let out a despairing scream as Ace suddenly shot up out of his food, eyes bleary with sleep.

"Ahhhhhh! He came back to life!" Midori sweat dropped again. A girl approached Ace from the side.

"Um are you alright?" Ace looked around confused before wiping his face off on her skirt, causing her to screech in embarrassment. Ace sighed.

"Ah oops. I fell asleep." Everyone grew shark teeth.

"YOU WERE ASLEEP!" They screamed in shock. Midori bit back a laugh. After all, he had already witnessed one of Ace's narcolepsy attacks.

"That's absurd! You were in the middle of a conversation and a meal!" One customer yelled.

"And now he's eating again!" Another said incredulously. Midori began to eat himself. Really, he had to admit that he was never bored around Ace. Midori snickered as he chewed. Ace turned around and looked at everybody, who were still shamelessly staring at him.

"What's all the commotion about, anyway?" He asked. Three of the customers grew shark teeth again and threw up their hands. The owner was looking highly uncomfortable.

"WE WERE WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" They screamed in unison. Midori was fighting back full laughter now as he took another bite.

"Does this restaurant do comedy skits or something?" Ace asked the owner, gesturing to the evil looking customers behind him.

"No, it's not like that. But we're glad you're alright!" The owner said as Ace prepared to take another bite. Then Ace slumped into his plate again.

"HEY! DON'T SLEEP AGAIN!" Everyone screamed. Most of the customers grumbled and started dispersing, glaring at the young man who just woke up again and looking at the one sitting next to him, laughing himself silly. Ace finished his meal and dropped his fork on the plate, satisfied. He pulled out Luffy's poster and began to show it to the still disgruntled restaurant owner.

"Hey old man, have you seen this man in town? He's a pirate that wears a straw hat." Just as the man was about to answer, a deep gruff voice sounded out from the door of the establishment.

"I'm impressed that you're bold enough to eat out in public, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Portgas D. Ace." Silence descended like a hammer as Ace spun around on the stool, cocky smirk on his face. Midori looked at the man in the doorway, apprehension on his face. The man in the doorway was tough, he decided. He had short, military cut white hair, slotted eyes, and two lit cigars hanging from his lips. He was wearing a white barrel jacket with fur at the ends of the sleeves and numerous cigars attached to the outside of the jacket, and he was carrying some type of metal weapon Midori had never seen before.

"Whitebeard Pirates! That dimwit is the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates?" The customers screamed. They backed away again, this time clearing a path between Ace and the cigar man.

"Come to think of it that mark on his back _is_ Whitebeard's mark." One guest said. The cigar man spoke again in his rough voice.

"What's a famous big shot pirate like you doing in this country?" Ace's smirk got even wider before he answered.

"I'm searching….for my little brother." Silence rang for a few minutes while the cigar man was still standing in the doorway.

"So, what do you want from me?" Ace asked him, slight warning in his voice.

"To let me capture you quietly." The man replied succinctly. Ace's lips twitched.

"Nope! I think I'll pass." Ace drawled, while tensing for an attack.

"Yeah I figured," The other man said,"but I'm busy looking for another pirate right now. Honestly I have no desire to take you in." Ace shrugged nonchalantly.

"Then just look the other way." He said simply. The people in the restaurant were watching the conversation like a tennis match, heads swiveling back and forth between the two men.

"Can't," The other man said just as simply and began to smoke from his arms. "Not as long as I'm a Marine, and you're a Pirate." Ace shrugged again.

"That's a boring reason." Ace protested cockily. "Let's have some fun okay?" In the distance, you could hear a voice beginning to shout.

"Gomu-gomu no Rocketto!" Things happened very fast from that moment. A flesh-colored blur slammed into the smoking marine, who was propelled into Ace. The both of them were sent through the bar, through the wall, and also through a half dozen houses, leaving a celebrating man in his place. Midori gaped along with the rest of the customers this time. This was undoubtedly the most stupid person he had ever seen, and he was also obviously Ace's brother Luffy.

"Yay! Food Place! I found a food place! Now I can eat, I'm starving! Old Man! Food! Food! Food! On the double!" Everyone continued to gape as he grabbed a fork and knife and banged them together childishly.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Food, food, food!" The proprietor hurried to set several plates of food in front of him and he immediately began to stuff his face with it, talking through the food.

"Yummy! This is such a yum food place!" Luffy enthused through a mouthful of pasta. The owner broke into a nervous smile.

"T-thank you, but y-you should probably run now! That guy that just went flying, do you know who that was?" Luffy continued to munch while Midori waited for Ace to return. If there was anything he knew, it was that Ace's head was hard enough to have not even been injured by the impact. Luffy shook his head and stuffed a piece of meat in his mouth.

"Huh? Who sent someone flying?" Midori sweat dropped. Was Ace's brother really this dumb?

"You did!" The owner snapped. Luffy continued to talk through a full mouth.

"I did? Who went flying?" The owner pointed towards the huge hole in the wall with his thumb. You could see through several houses, but there was no one in the holes.

"What's with these holes? What a weird shop! Is this your hobby old man?" Midori took his latest thought back. He felt a little sorry for Ace, knowing that his brother had just thoroughly earned the Idiot-of the Year Award. The old man and a few others grew shark teeth again.

"YOU caused it!" They snapped, once again in unison.

"I did? When?" The men just shook their heads, but they backed away apprehensively as a pissed off Ace appeared in the hole.

"WHAT kind of idiot-!" Ace's face lit up as he realized that said idiot was his brother. "Lu-" He began to call out but that marine walked up behind Ace and face planted him into the broken rubble.

"Straw Hat!" He growled menacingly as he stopped in front of the eating man.

"I've been looking for you Straw Hat! So you did come here, to Alabasta!" Luffy continued to stare at the marine standing in front of him and sweat began to bead down his face.

"STOP EATING!" The marine roared and Luffy spat out his mouthful into his face, making him fume in anger.

"You're that Smokey! Just a minute!" Luffy shoved the rest of the food in his mouth, making record size chipmunk cheeks, bowed, and dashed out the doors, the marine in hot pursuit. Ace got up and also ran after them.

"Wait! Luffy, it's me Ace! Wait!" Midori dashed after them as fast as he could go but Ace had already lost Luffy and Smoker. Midori caught up to Ace gasping.

"Damn Ace you guys run fast!" Ace shifted his daze to Midori.

"Come on. Get on my back! We'll try to head them off on the way to port. Luffy's no doubt running to his ship." Midori climbed on Ace's back and he jumped up onto the roof, running alongside where Luffy was fleeing Smoker. Luffy fell off the roof and saw his crew, leading the pursuing marines right to them. They all began to run to port but Luffy began to panic as Smoker closed in. Ace leapt into the air, and landed right in between Smoker and Luffy. Midori scrambled off Ace's back and moved to stand next to Luffy, who had stopped to stare at their rescuer along with his crew.

"Heat Haze!" Ace shouted, and blocked the smoke attack from the confused marine.

"You, huh?" Smoker growled. Ace smirked in retaliation.

"Just give it up. You may be smoke, but I am fire. A fight between the two of us would never end." Midori looked to the right as the very same green haired man he had seen earlier gasped and exclaimed.

"He had Devil Fruit Powers?" Next to him, an equally surprised man with a very long nose shouted out.

"Who is he? Why is he helping us?" Luffy gaped in surprise.

"Ace? Ace is that you?" Luffy asked quizzically. Ace turned his head to the side.

"You haven't changed at all Luffy." Luffy took a halting step forward.

"Ace, is that you? You ate a Devil Fruit?" Ace smirked in his direction and Midori smiled at him, thinking that their family definitely had a flare for the dramatic. A dozen white-clad marines were surrounding them as they stood.

"Captain Smoker! We have secured the perimeter." Ace turned around to face Captain Smoker again.

"Anyways, we can't chat like this, I'll catch up later. You guys run! Midori go with them, I'll see you later." Midori nodded and turned to run along with Luffy's crew. They glanced at him but didn't say anything to him.

"But Luffy-" An orange haired girl started.

"Who was that?" Asked the blond guy with the strange eyebrow. Luffy laughed out loud as they ran.

"He's my big brother!" They were silent for two seconds.

"BIG BROTHER!" They shouted. Oh yes, Midori laughed to himself, definitely a flare for the dramatic.

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><p>AN: GAHHHHHHH I'm SO MAD! I just got my first EVER homophobic flame and it pissed me the HELL OFF! I wrote right at the beginning that this story was slash! It was not necessary to tell me I was a 'fucking faggot' and 'rot in hell you fucking yaoi fangirl'! Stupid people like that should just DIE! Now I feel better! I don't mind reviews, in fact I love them. But if you do not have anything better to do with yourself than read obviously yaoi fan fictions and then cuss people out for writing them you need a doc visit and then some meds. The only thing that makes it a little better is the wonderful encouraging reviews I've gotten from people since then Thanks! Also I apologize for it taking this long this seriously has been the worst week ever. I was in a three way accident and my car ended up being totaled and then two days later I was fired from my job for a bullshit reason and I've had no luck finding a new job so I may also lose my apartment! I'm keeping fingers crossed!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Koi No Ignition

Chapter 4: A Mystery Man Named Midori

A Note from ShinythiefXblast:

First of all I really need to say thank you for all your words of support these past few weeks. They say that bad things seem to happen all at once and I firmly believe that to be the truth. The insurance company did total my car but they ended up paying 2000 more than its Kelly blue book value and I bought myself a car with that and I'm using the leftover to replace my poor dying phone lol. I also got a job! I'm so excited!

Second, I need to say that I'm unsure how long I can update as fast as I am. If my job ends up being time consuming, I may not be able to update very frequently. There is also the problem of my horrible propensity for writers block…..sigh. Anyway my personal goal is to get to chapter 7 before the end of October! Yay go me! Lol. I also have plot bunnies for two other stories bouncing in my head, so I'm not entirely sure about the future.

Thank you so much for bearing with me! I welcome advice of any kind! Please review!

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><p>In the last chapter, Midori and Ace meet up with Luffy and crew. Luffy's crew is rightfully confused and Midori is wondering about Luffy's lack of brains. Midori and Luffy's crew are now heading towards the Going Merry while Ace stayed to buy them time to escape. In a statement that shocks Luffy's crew and only opens up more questions, Luffy reveals that Ace is his older brother. Let's see what happens next!<p>

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><p>Midori looked back to where Ace had been only moments before when he heard a humongous explosion behind him. Ace was no longer standing there, but spiraling up into the sky was a bright whirlwind of smoke and fire. A quiet sense of awe filled him as he saw for the first time the proof of Ace's strength. Midori knew he had to get stronger very fast, because the last thing he wanted to be for Ace was a burden.<p>

"What in the world is going on? A fight between Smoke and Fire?" The long nosed boy asked. The blond man took a puff on his cigarette and exhaled.

"He did say he ate the Flame-Flame Fruit." Midori continued to look back at Ace's fight. Out of the corner of his eye, Midori saw the blond man with the weird eyebrow glaring at him as he ran next to them. Midori glared right back at him, sneering mentally.

"Who the hell are you, shitty kid?" Midori saw red and launched himself at the blond man, grasping him by the collar and hauling his face close.

"Who the fuck you calling a kid, stupid eyebrow! Ehh?" The blond man snarled and grasped his own collar to try to get Midori to release him. The blue haired girl launched herself in between them and tried to physically push them apart. Midori released his collar and sneered angrily.

"Please stop fighting Sanji-san! Don't cause trouble!" The blond man, named Sanji, instantly backed off and gazed at her with throbbing hearts in his eyes.

"Yesss Vivi-chwaaan! Anything for you!" Midori shook his head. It would figure that Luffy's crew would be just as insane as he was. The orange haired girl stopped running and the rest of them stopped too and gazed at Midori. She got up in his face and he backed away, discomfited.

"Sanji-kun didn't go about it the right way but he is right. Who are you?" Midori ran a hand through already disheveled hair and sighed heavily. Every person in the crew was looking at him expectantly. Luffy, Sanji, Vivi, the green haired man, the orange haired girl, a duck, a reindeer, and a long nosed man, were all gazing at him.

"Isn't it only polite to introduce yourselves first? The only one I know of here is Luffy-kun. I don't know the rest of you at all." They all looked at each other and nodded. The orange haired girl spoke quickly.

"Well we are Luffy, Sanji, Vivi, Usopp, Zoro, Chopper, Karoo, and I'm Nami." The girl said, gesturing to each person in turn. Then she continued to look at him expectantly.

"I am called Midori, I'm Ace's friend. Also I'm 17, moron, so don't call me a kid!" Midori finished, glaring at Sanji. Sanji looked as if he wanted to start something, but Nami sent him a heated glare and he started dancing with hearts in his eyes again.

"I like that side of Nami toooo!" Sanji wailed in ecstasy. Zoro growled at him exasperated.

"Shut up! Stupid perverted cook!" Sanji glared daggers at Zoro and pounced on him. They began to fight in a cloud of dust until Nami walked over and beaned the both of them _hard_. They groaned in pain and clasped their heads. Midori took a couple steps away from her in self preservation.

"But Luffy, is that really your brother?" Nami asked curiously. Luffy grinned and shaded his eyes with his hand in order to see the fight better.

"Yeah his name is Ace!" He gushed happily. Midori sweat dropped. Luffy had a serious brother complex. Not that he really blamed Luffy because Ace was just awesome, but still…

"Anyway we have to get to the Merry! We have to get away before the Marines catch up to us. Ace-san can catch up with us later." The group started running again towards the ship and Midori went with them quietly even though his lungs were beginning to burn a bit. Zoro turned towards Luffy, who was running backwards in an effort to watch Ace's fight with Smoker.

"Luffy, you having a brother isn't all that surprising, but what's he doing in the Grand Line?" Luffy laughed uproariously and then grinned.

"Nii-san is a pirate too! He left our island 3 years before me to search for the One Piece!" The crew gasped in shock! Midori wasn't shocked because he already knew that Ace was a pirate, but he was confused about one other thing.

"What's the One Piece?" Luffy grinned.

"It's the greatest treasure in the world! It belonged to the Old pirate King Gold Roger before he got executed! What kinda pirate are you if you don't know that?" Midori shook his head at him.

"I don't think I'm a pirate Luffy-kun." The pirates looked at him but didn't say anything.

"There's a split up ahead! Everyone go left got it?" Nami bellowed out. Sanji once again got hearts in his eyes.

"I'll follow you wherever you go Nami-swan!" Zoro glared at Sanji from the side.

"Enough, you perverted cook!" Zoro growled out as he sped up. The group continued running up to the road split.

"Still, I never thought I'd see Ace at a place like this!" Luffy crowed. At the fork, they all took the left street but Luffy, who was still running backward, went right. They ran until they reached the harbor and boarded a small looking boat with a sheep's head at the bow. Midori didn't really know what to do that would help them get ready to set sail, so he elected to stand beside Nami on the deck, where she was rapidly barking out orders.

"Hurry and load the stuff! We're leaving right away" The intimidating girl yelled. The little reindeer, Chopper and Vivi, the blue haired girl were carrying sacks of supplies down to the lower deck when Chopper looked up at Vivi.

"W-we're leaving just after we reached the island?" Midori started in shock. Did that reindeer just talk?

"Yes, we only stopped by this town to get supplies we'll need for the journey. Now we will head up the river into the interior of Alabasta. Our next destination is Erumalu, the City of Green." Chopper tilted his head at her.

"Erumalu?" He asked. Midori tugged on Nami's sun cape absentmindedly.

"Nami, did that reindeer just talk?" Nami looked at him and grinned.

"Yeah! Our Chopper is a reindeer that ate the Human-Human Fruit so now he has human characteristics." Midori's jaw dropped in awe and his eyes sparkled.

"That's so brilliant!" Midori whispered. Nami just smirked and yelled for the crew to hurry. Zoro was hoisting the anchor, and Sanji was tugging on the sail, as Usopp took his place at the rudder.

"All right set sail!" Nami yelled, but then she paused and looked around the deck.

"Y'know…" Sanji started.

"I get the feeling we're missing someone." Usopp said deadpan.

"So do I." said the little reindeer.

"Yeah, we are missing approximately one person." Nami gritted out.

"That Moron!" Zoro yelled angrily, kicking the mast. Midori snickered softly.

"Does this happen often?" All of the crew swiveled their heads in unison to look at him, resigned looks on their face.

"All the time that shitty captain is getting himself lost." Sanji growled, while lighting up another cigarette and taking a deep draw.

"This is the second time since we first got to Alabasta this morning!" Said Vivi sighing. Karoo gave a token quack before sitting on the deck. Nami sighed and began to climb up to the crow's nest to see if she could catch a glimpse of Luffy with binoculars.

"Set sail anyway. We have to find someplace to hide the ship before we can find Luffy." Nami barked. Chopper piped in as the boat began to move.

"But is it really okay to set sail without Luffy?" He asked and Nami smiled at him.

"The Navy is going to be all over the harbor looking for us so we need to be out of sight."

"There should be a cove ahead that's hidden from view." Vivi said, pointing to a cluster of rocks in the distance.

"We'll wait for things to cool down, and then we'll look for Luffy, okay Chopper?" Sanji said quietly. Usopp groaned in exasperation.

"Jeez, he's always, always causing problems like this!" He said, while sitting on the deck, looking pissed. Zoro was leaning against the outside railing and he grunted in agreement.

"Yeah that's a real reliable captain…." They sailed further down the harbor for another few minutes before Nami chimed out.

"There he is! I found him. I found Luffy!" Zoro looked up at her.

"You did?" Sanji got out his own pair of binoculars and peered through them.

"Yeah. That stupid face is definitely his." Sanji groused and then his eyes widened.

"Oh shit!" Midori looked in the direction Sanji was and saw a flesh-colored blur flying in their direction. It slammed into Sanji and Chopper, propelling them onto the deck. On top of the moaning dog pile was Luffy.

"Sanji-kun! Tony-kun!" Vivi screamed as she headed towards them.

"I'm home ha-ha!" Luffy laughed. Sanji broke out of his stupor and began strangling Luffy by the neck, shaking him furiously.

"Sorry! Sanji, Chopper!" Luffy crowed while laughing heartily.

"Every time! Do you not know how to learn a lesson? I ought to gut you whole!" Sanji yelled while shaking him stupid. Nami climbed down from the crow's nest and hit Luffy on the head.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused?" Nami groused. "Can you at least _try_ to act like a captain?" Luffy leaned back to look at her face and rolled his eyes.

"Sorry." He apologized insincerely and then perked up. "Oh that's right! Ace!" Luffy jumped up and ran to the side of the ship and peered off the edge.

"Ace?" Zoro said, "He was with you?" Usopp looked in the same direction.

"Is it alright to leave him there?" Luffy turned around and leaned against the railing facing his crew while grinning widely.

"It's alright! Ace's strong!" Their eyes widened comically and Midori sighed. Chopper twitched his nose and looked at Luffy.

"He's strong?" Chopper asked reverently. Midori smiled. The cute little reindeer had a tendency to parrot things. Luffy laughed.

"Yeah he's strong! Back when we were little he hadn't eaten the Flame Flame Fruit but I still never beat him in a single fight! He's super strong, Ace is!" Nami gestured incredulously.

"You mean there's a flesh and blood person you couldn't beat?" Usopp grumbled surprised in the background, attempting to do it under his breath but didn't quite make it.

"I guess the big brother of a monster is an even bigger monster." Luffy laughed again.

"That's right! I lost all the time ha-ha! But I'd win now if we tried hahahahaha!" Zoro rolled his eyes incredulously.

"I'm assuming that's another groundless claim." He groused.

"Who do you think…" Ace leapt up behind Luffy and landed on the railing, knocking Luffy to the ground. "can win what now?" Ace balanced on the railing and looked at Midori, nodding his head briefly before focusing his attention on his grinning little brother.

"Oh Ace! This is the awesome crew I was telling you about!" Ace bowed to them while still perched on the railing.

"Oh, thank you all for taking care of my little brother!" They bowed in return.

"Eh? No, not at all." They said unanimously. Midori looked on enviously. There were times when you could tell how close people were, and Luffy's crew were close enough to speak in unison. He wondered if he would ever be that close with someone. He seemed to recall a pair of red-headed twins….

"He might be a bit much for you to handle but…" Ace started while grinning.

"No, not at all." They said again dispassionately. Ace bowed again while smiling.

"Please take good care of him." Sanji took out another cigarette and rolled up his sleeves.

"Well I'm sure you've got a lot of catching up to do," Sanji started while turning to go to the galley, "Why don't you come in? I'll go make some tea." Ace lifted his finger and lit Sanji's cigarette, making it glow with heat.

"No, that's okay. Don't do that on my account." Everyone gaped including Midori. He had never seen Ace acting this polite before.

"Talk about unexpected." Usopp gaped.

"That's for sure." Zoro said.

"I would have expected him to be as reckless as Luffy." Usopp continued gaping. Nami clasped her hands in front of her heart in wide eyed shock.

"No way! This sensible man can't possibly be Luffy's brother." Zoro started crying. Manly crying of course.

"He's a nice guy that cares about his brother!" Chopper started crying too, but with stars in his eyes.

"Brothers are so wonderful!" He sobbed heavily. Sanji took a draw on his cigarette and exhaled.

"The sea is just full of surprises." He said incredulously. Vivi smiled and went between them all making calming gestures.

"Come on now, don't say those things!" Luffy laughed hard and leaned in front of Ace.

"See! Aren't they neat ha ha ha!" Luffy laughed harder and Midori walked forward to greet Ace.

"Yo, Midori. Havin' fun?" Midori rolled his eyes at Ace and sat beside him on the railing.

"I don't know. I kind of feel bad for them. Their captain is a supreme idiot." Ace chuckled softly at him and shifted slightly, still balanced on the railing.

"Yeah but my little bro's always been that way. Can't tell ya how many times I had to knock 'im in the head for doing something dumb." Suddenly a great splash sounded behind them and they turned in unison to look at the cause. Behind them, coming up fast were five ships with sails emblazoned with 'Baroque Works'. Vivi gasped.

"Oh no it's Baroque Works! Those are the Billions' ships!" Luffy leaned far out on the edge of the ship in the ships' direction.

"Tsch. Those guys again?" Ace shifted again and interrupted him.

"Luffy, I'll clean them up." Luffy's crew shifted to look at him.

"Eh?" They questioned as Ace jumped off the side of the boat onto the little one person craft that had been attached to Ace's little boat.

"What's he going to do?" Nami questioned, and Usopp nodded in agreement.

"Especially in that little boat…" He trailed off, staring as Ace detached the mooring line and sped out to the Billions. Zoro piped in with his arms crossed.

"Well let's see just how strong this Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates really is." He said thoughtfully, gazing out at the impending confrontation. Ace smirked and jumped, propelling the little craft underwater while Ace propelled himself up and over all five of the ships, while the Billions attempted to shoot him out of the sky. Ace's little boat resurfaced on the other side of the boats and Ace landed on it smirking. Midori could tell that whatever was about to happen wasn't going to be pretty. Ace pulled pack and sent an enormous fiery whirlwind punch, smashing through the opposition instantly and leaving only very small bits of burning wreckage behind. Midori gazed out at the carnage, heart beating rapidly, the reflections of flames dancing in his eyes. Luffy and crew were shocked speechless at the mighty display, while Midori had only one (rather cliché) thought running through his mind. _That was absolutely hot!_ A blush came over his face as he gazed dreamily at Ace, who was tilting his hat with a still smoldering finger. Nami was looking at him and got a calculating look on her face. A little grin danced across her mouth as she looked at Midori, but it faded before anyone noticed. Ace was starting to return to the Merry when Midori sighed, and turned away from the fiery blaze. He caught Nami staring at him and gave her a sidelong look and he shuddered and averted his eyes. Surely he hadn't really seen money signs in her eyes. He walked past her and approached the little reindeer, who was still looking at the fire with starry eyed wonder. He knealt in front of him and waited for a moment until Chopper finally noticed his presence. Chopper's fur instantly rose and he jumped a few feet in the air.

"I like you, Chopper! Can I talk with you for a bit?" Chopper scampered to the mast and hid his right eye behind it with the rest of his body visible. Midori sweatdropped and raised a finger at him.

"If you're trying to hide I think you've got it backwards, Chopper…" Chopper flinched, then slowly moved so that the only visible body part was his left eye. Midori had trouble hiding a smile at that. He got up from where he was crouched and walked over to the mast.

"D-don't come any closer!" Chopper squeaked. "You just want to hurt me cause I'm a monster!" Chopper's eyes teared up, and Midori sighed before shaking his head.

"Honestly, I've seen stranger things than a talking reindeer. I just want to talk to you for a bit." Chopper peeked his head out a little more and then blushed. He wore a huge grin on his face and began to dance.

"Ha ha ha you stupid idiot, I'm not happy at all ehehe~! Dummy stay the hell away from me hehe~! I don't want to talk to you at all!" Midori shook his head and turned to Nami, who was smiling fondly.

"Uh, he's completely happy isn't he?" She smirked and shoved him in Chopper's direction as Ace finally got back on board.

AN: Thanks so much for your patience! I will try to have the next installment as soon as possible!


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